Nature's Wrath In Hand
by NyxenEclipse
Summary: But the damage was done. And so was Meliorn. The earth provides, he reminded himself before letting the spear fall from his grasp. He turned his focus inwards, towards the earth, the plants and the sky, begging for their help. They answered.


The sky was painted with a rusted orange and shrill shrieks pierced the air. The battle had raged all night and dawn was on the horizon, warm colours staining the sky above them. The grey clouds looked grimly dark in contrast. On the ground, shining light slashed and sliced dark, deformed shapes. A silver whip twirled elegantly. Arrows speared the air, over sparking magic. A knight's spear cutting clean through anything in its path. The power thrumming was unimaginable.

A horde of demons had appeared on the outskirts of New York, and the team had been sent in to deal with them. But they just kept coming and coming and coming. Even with Magnus's magic, they were losing. Meliorn had appeared mid battle, tearing a path over to Jace, a smirk quirking his lips.

"What are you doing here?" Jace yelled over the din, hacking at an oncoming demon.

"Helping." Meliorn replied coyly as he stabbed the demon from behind to finish it off. "It seems like you need it."

More demons separated the two, blood spurting onto the ground. Meliorn's armour was quickly stained with thick ichor. But he was a Knight. It did not matter. The only thing that did was protecting his realm. Focus entirely on the battlefield spread out before him, Meliorn was entirely in his element. Not allowing his attention to hone in only the demon in front, but staying aware of everything around him.

But it wasn't enough.

They just kept coming. Black shapes surged from all sides. The Shadowhunters, Magnus and Meliorn were barely staying afloat in the tide of monsters. There were just too many. Meliorn ran the blade of his spear through the neck of a demon that tried to bite him. Its head hit the floor with a satisfying thud- ruined by the yell of pain that erupted from Jace's throat. Meliorn's head snapped towards him. Blood was running down Jace's arm from the claws of a demon. Before Meliorn could react, Jace had stabbed the creature in the chest.

But the damage was done. And so was Meliorn.

_The earth provides_, he reminded himself before letting the spear fall from his grasp. He turned his focus inwards, towards the earth, the plants and the sky, begging for their help. They answered. Green sparks spilled from his clenched fists as he strained.

The wind started to pick up, leaves rustling. Dark clouds gathered in the sky and the ground started to tremble. Another rough breath from Meliorn brought powerful vines shooting up from the ground. They tangled around the demons, crushing them into nothing but ash and ichor. Thunder rumbled across the sky and lightning lit furious pathways in the grim sky. A hoarse scream tore from Meliorn's lips and pushed himself out further, connecting to nature's very core.

The winged demons still circling the air- out of the vines' reach- were thrown by the powerful winds that were only increasing in strength. The brilliant lightning scorched them mid-flight, sending them crashing to the ground. Most disintegrated on impact, but some still managed to crawl up again. Only to be put down by the Shadowhunters.

And it was over.

But Meliorn still stood; shaking and gasping, ripping apart everything around him. He didn't seem to realise they had won. The vines twisted restlessly on the ground in response to the Seelie's panic. The storm still channelled his rage above. Someone yelled his name, but Meliorn felt like he was underwater, and the distorted sounds couldn't rouse him. He had unleashed a tidal wave but couldn't pull it back again. More voices yelled, their pleas distant and far away to Meliorn's mind.

But one soft voice pierced the fog that coated his thoughts. Warm hands settled on his shoulders, slowly drawing him back into reality.

"It's alright, Meliorn. The demons are gone. You did it. We're safe. I'm safe. You can let go."

Meliorn whimpered through clenched teeth and ragged pants. He couldn't, he couldn't. It was too much, too much. Was this what dying was? He couldn't stop, couldn't pull back. He was dying, dying, couldn't stop.

"Yes, you can. Breathe in deep. Pull it in and let go."

Meliorn sucked in a sharp breath. Pull it back. Let go. Pull back. Let go. Pull back. Let go. The earth and the plants and the sky obeyed his command. He sent them an exhausted thanks as they calmed and still with him. Light broke through as the clouds started to dissipate.

The magic seeping from Meliorn's hands flickered and faded as his fists loosened. His trembling increased as the effort he expended caught up with him. His eyes drifted open, catching sight of golden hair and worried eyes. One word ran through his mind, Jace. Then darkness enveloped him, and he spiralled downwards.

Jace watched as Meliorn's eyes rolled back into his head and he started to fall. But Jace was prepared and caught him long before he hit the ground. He eased Meliorn's limp form down as the others gathered around them. Magnus kneeled opposite Jace, running healing magic down Meliorn's body.

"Is he okay?" Izzy asked, her voice high pitched with worry. She and Meliorn may have ended their relationship but they had remained good friends and the concern was written all over her face.

Humming, Magnus gave one last sweep over Meliorn before answering. "Yes. He's completely spent, and it will take some time for him to recover, but he'll be fine."

"I didn't know Seelies could do that." Clary commented.

Magnus turned to look at her. "Normally they can't. Not like that. Only the Queen is capable of manipulating nature to that extent. Or was."

After the battle with Jonathan, Meliorn had informed them the queen was dead and the Seelies had become a democracy, as he had kept his place on the Downworld council.

Magnus continued, "For Meliorn to have pulled that off, drew upon all his reserves- more than he had, even. He needs to rest."

Jace dug his fingers into the dirt to keep them from tracing Meliorn's skin. He could feel Alec's suspicious eyes staring at him, but the Lightwood said nothing.

"We should take him to the Institute. We can make sure he's okay." Jace said.

"Alright." Alec agreed.

Jace shifted Melion's unconscious form into his arms and picked him up, bridal style. The Seelie didn't stir. Alec bent down and retrieved Meliorn's discarded spear before following the weary procession through Magnus's portal.

The Shadowhunters stopped what they were doing to watch Jace pass by with Meliorn in his arms as he strode down the corridors to the infirmary. Once he was there, he carefully laid Meliorn out on one of the beds, tucking his hair away from his face neatly. A medic gave Meliorn a quick once over, but there was little to be done, other than letting him rest. They hooked the Seelie on a drip just to be safe. Jace never left his side.

"You're bleeding."

The sudden voice startled Jace from his thoughts. He looked up to see Alec standing in the doorway, arms folded over his chest.

"It's nothing an iratze won't fix." Jace murmured in response, shrugging off his leather jacket and pulling out his stele. The scratch on his arm closed up and the healing rune shimmered.

"I see you're over Clary." Alec remarked.

"What are you talking about?" Jace snarked, pointedly not looking at his parabatai.

"I've noticed it for a while. You're happy."

"Yeah, and? Can't I just be happy?"

"That's not what I meant. You're happy like you were with Clary; but even more so. I didn't put it all together until today. You knew exactly what to say to get Meliorn under control and you brought him here. You're in love. With him."

Jace let out a heavy sigh and slipped his hand into Melion's lax one. "Yeah. I guess I am."

"How long?"

Jace shrugged, staring down at Meliorn's beautiful face. He looked so peaceful asleep, but the dark circles around his eyes and his raspy breaths gave him a haggard, wrought look.

"I guess I always liked him, but after Edom we started hanging out, and it just... happened."

"Have you told him that you love him?"

Jace shook his head. "No."

"You should tell him. I think he feels the same way. Trust me."

Jace glanced up at him, a smile twitching at his lips. "Thanks, Alec."

"I'll see you later."

And then Jace was alone, with only Melion's rasps for company. His calloused fingers traced Meliorn's smooth face and the rough scars marring it. Jace was the only one Meliorn trusted with the true trauma behind the scars, the loathing he held for them. Maybe Alec was right. Maybe Meliorn did feel the same about Jace as Jace did about him.

"Hey, Meliorn," Jace whispered as he ran his hand through the Seelie's long hair. "Get some rest, okay."

Jace sat at Meliorn's bedside for hours. Izzy and Clary had both stopped by, but they hadn't stayed long. Izzy couldn't stand to see Meliorn looking so hurt and Clary came for Jace. The brief fling they had together was good, but after the whole sibling fiasco, they couldn't rekindle that spark. Clary had moved on and was dating Maia, who had called to give Meliorn her well wishes; as had Simon. Both had seen the powerful display from a distance, which made Jace even more impressed by his Knight.

It was evening by the time Meliorn slowly awoke. Jace was half asleep himself, but Meliorn's quiet groan roused him instantly.

"Welcome back."

Meliorn blinked his way through fuzzy vision to decipher the blurred form hovering in front of his eyes. "Jace?" he croaked.

Jace placed a hand on Melion's forehead. "That's my name. How're you feeling?"

"Exhausted." Meliorn mumbled. He cursed his inability to lie, but he had no energy left for distractions and half-truths. "I- my head is pounding."

Jace breathed out a quiet chuckle. "Yeah. You did some serious damage. Of course, you're tired."

Meliorn let out a quiet, pained moan. "I couldn't stop. I almost lost control."

Jace's finger slid over Melion's lips to quiet him. "You did stop. You didn't lose control, and you saved a lot of lives. You're a hero, Mel."

Somehow, Meliorn found the energy to arch an eyebrow, an amused glint in his eye. "Mel? You've never called me that before."

Grinning, Jace gave Melion's hair another stroke. "Do you mind it?"

"No. I like it." Meliorn breathed. His eye lids drooped again as what little energy he still had left rapidly depleted.

"Meliorn? I love you." Jace blurted out softly.

Meliorn let out the tiniest, most exhausted laugh Jace had ever heard, but the Seelie forced his eyes to stay open just a little while longer. "I love you too."

More carefully than should've been humanly possible, Jace pressed the sweetest, gentlest kiss to Meliorn's lips. Meliorn pressed very slightly against him to deepen the kiss. Jace pulled away too soon for Meliorn's liking. With a grin, the Shadowhunter slid into the bed alongside Meliorn.

"Now get some sleep, Mel."

It the best night's sleep Meliorn had had in a long, long time.


End file.
